Schoenberg's angle on fractures and anisotropy: A study in orthotropy

CONCLUSIONS

In this paper I have treated various methods for quantifying the geomechanical effects of fracture sets on reservoirs. Special emphasis has been given to recent work, and also to the influence that the work of Michael Schoenberg has had on this subject. I conclude that the methods currently in use provide a consistent and presumably quite accurate picture of the influence of fractures on wave propagation in many cases, and that the various methods in use, although sometimes presented quite differently, are actually very closely related both conceptually and also in the quantitative details of their predictions.

Of course, elastic orthotropy is not universal in the earth [see Sayers et al. (2009)], so we should not and I do not assume that all the problems in exploration seismology will be solved by such relatively simple models. One final conclusion is that, although good progress has been made, there is also clearly more work to be done relative to the influence of fractures and anisotropy on seismic waves.

Schoenberg's angle on fractures and anisotropy: A study in orthotropy